EVERY so often in motocross racing, a rider has the kind of race which makes all the hard work worth it.
For former Mount Gambier motocross rider Kirk Gibbs that race was in Rotorua on Sunday, where he made an impressive come-back in the second moto, before going on to secure the overall win for round two of the New Zealand Motocross Championships.
Gibbs claimed the honours for the round with a 2-1-1 result, but was it not for his daring efforts in race two, it would have been a different story.
He finished second to championship leader Cody Cooper in race one, while a crash early in race two put Gibbs back to 17th.
However, he put his head down and raced his heart out to cut through the field and cross the finish line in first.
He backed up that result with a hole-shot-to-victory third moto to hand him the overall points for the event.
Gibbs, who had been sitting 11 points adrift of Cooper in the standings after the opening round in Balclutha three weeks ago, said it was the determination to be in the fight which spurred him on in race two.
“I was frustrated with myself and just wanted to be in the fight,” he said.
“I pushed really hard and caught all the way back up to Hamish (Harwood) and Coops (Cooper) and was able to pass both of them and get the win.
“I was really happy with that one.”
Gibbs is now well within striking distance to lift the MX1 trophy that he took back across the Tasman in 2018 and sits only six points behind defending champion Cooper.
It is a short and busy week between rounds for the Altherm JCR Yamaha team, with round three of the four-round series in Hawke’s Bay this Sunday.
